Gabon national team head coach Patrice Neveu has responded to Ghana’s captain Andre Ayew for slamming his players as small ones for their un-fair play attitude.
The two sides’ Friday evening game ended in a huge brawl on following Gabon’s late equalizer.
Black Stars were expecting Gabon players to give them back the ball after they kicked it out as one of their teammates was on the floor.
After the game, Andre Ayew called them ‘brand of small players’ during his post-match reaction.
“In the fairness of football, when you take the throw-in, you give us back the ball, but they didn’t and that’s why they scored.”
“We were waiting for the ball to come back to us and telling them, give the ball back, give it back, give it to us but they didn’t, and they scored.”
“It’s small of them, and I’m disappointed in them,” Ayew said.
Meanwhile, Neveu reacted with humour to Black Stars’ skipper saying the fair play meant Ghanaians should have not wasted time when knowing they were leading as the game end approached.
“The word Fair Play is an English word. We don’t have this word in French. Before you lecture me about Fair Play, you (Ghana) were involved in so many instances that do not show that you were practicing it exactly,” Neveu replied.
“Fair Play means Ghana should’ve stopped trying to waste time and breaking the game. Don’t come and preach me on Fair Play. We saw a chance and we took it,” he added.
Ghana, who are in the hunt for a first Nations Cup title since 1982, have not exited the Nations Cup in the group stage since 2010.
They are now looking for maximum points in their last game against Comoros if they are to stand any chance of making it to the knockout stage.
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